Soviet Policy in Southeast Asia: Towards Constructive Engagement

Abstract

SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY has since 1985 continued to undergo profound changes. The imperatives of domestic political and economic reform and the assumptions that underscore new political thinking have had a deep impact on the Soviet world view resulting in dramatic changes in Moscow's approach to international politics. Soviet foreign policy no longer appears to be based on East-West ideological competition but on measured cooperation in order to reduce tension and resolve outstanding global and regional problems in the pursuit of a common and equal security, which is now defined broadly to encompass political, economic and military dimensions. The Asia-Pacific region has received greater attention under Mikhail Gorbachev. Soviet Asia-Pacific policy, first articulated in Vladivostok in July 1986, appears to have three broad thrusts. One is the normalization of relations with China. The conflict with China has dominated Soviet policy in the region for over two decades. Normalization would enhance Soviet security and also allow it to reduce several burdensome relations in the region. The second thrust is to harness the economic dynamism of the region in order to benefit Soviet economic reform, especially the economic development of the Soviet Far East. The initial target in this thrust was Japan but lack of progress in Soviet-Japanese relations resulted in South Korea becoming a key concern of Soviet policy. The third thrust is to engage the U.S. in arms control negotiations in the Pacific so as to enhance Soviet security in the Far East. This thrust seeks to make a virtue out of necessity. The desperate economic situation of the Soviet Union requires a substantial reduction in Soviet defence expenditure. By seeking this reduction through arms control proposals the Soviet Union also seeks to promote a favorable image of itself and, if successful, the proposals would limit and possibly cut back American forward deployment in the region and reduce the strategic vulnerability of the Soviet Union. The general goal continues to be to enhance the legitimacy of the USSR as an Asia-Pacific power by making it an integral part of the region and by simultaneously gaining acceptance of its status and role from the regional countries. In line with this new foreign policy approach and the new policy towards the Asia-Pacific region, Soviet policy towards Southeast Asia has